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Intact adult males who wash their penis and glans daily with clean water usually do not have smegma between the inner foreskin and glans. In infants and boys whose foreskin cannot yet be pulled back (natural [[phimosis]]), smegma doesn't matter, while the foreskin protects the glans. The illustration "Smegma on a human penis" is therefore not typical for intact men who wash their genitals regularly.
Excessive washing and the use of soap inside the foreskin should be avoided, because it can cause non-specific dermatitis that may be mistaken for balanitis.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Birley
|first=HDL
|author-link=
|last2=Walker
|first2=MM
|author2-link=
|last3=Luzzi
|first3=GA
|author3-link=
|last4=Bell
|first4=R
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Clinical Features and management of recurrent
balanitis; association with atopy and genital
washing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Genitourin Med
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=69
|issue=5
|pages=400-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1195128/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8244363
|pubmedCID= 1195128
|DOI=10.1136/sti.69.5.400
|accessdate=2020-02-28
}}</ref>
== Smegma was believed to be carcinogenic ==